Legislators craft less invasive ultrasound bill

By Michael Bodine, Capital News Service

02/24/12

Both chambers of the General Assembly started revising legislation forcing women to get a fetal ultrasound before an abortion after Gov. Bob McDonnell persuaded lawmakers not to require a vaginal probe as part of the procedure.

That change was reflected in the revised version of House Bill 462 that the Senate Education and Health Committee approved Thursday on an 8-7 party-line vote. This measure, sponsored by Delegate Kathy Byron, R-Lynchburg, will go before the full Senate next week.

McDonnell’s recommendation, requiring a “transabdominal” ultrasound but not a “transvaginal” one, also was adopted when the House voted 65-32 Wednesday to modify and approve Senate Bill 484.

On Friday, the Senate was ready to consider the change that the House had made to SB 484. But the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Winchester, withdrew the measure.

Originally, both HB 462 and SB 484 required an ultrasound that would establish the gestational age of the fetus. In many cases, this would require a transvaginal procedure. Republican legislators supporting the legislation faced criticism from Democrats and women’s groups and were the target of jokes on national television shows.

Before Wednesday’s vote, McDonnell asked that the legislation be changed to eliminate the requirement for a transvaginal ultrasound before an abortion.

“It is clear that in the majority of cases, a routine external, transabdominal ultrasound is sufficient to meet the bills’ stated purpose, that is, to determine gestational age,” McDonnell said in a prepared statement.

“I have come to understand that the medical practice and standard of care currently guide physicians to use other procedures to find the gestational age of a child when abdominal ultrasounds cannot do so.”

The modifications made by GOP lawmakers at the governor’s request did not appease Democrats.

Delegate Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, said McDonnell’s amendments to the bills make them “no less egregious or intrusive.”

Delegate Mark Sickles of Franconia also spoke out against the bills.

“The entire nation is now looking in and learning each day about our misplaced priorities,” said Sickles, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus.
“This most personal government intervention was not asked for, is unnecessary, and should be vetoed when it reaches Gov. McDonnell’s desk.”

The Virginia Society for Human Life said it hoped the General Assembly would pass a law to “give women a greater degree of information and protection from unscrupulous abortionists.”

“The Virginia Society for Human Life supports the right of women to see an ultrasound and hear her baby’s heartbeat before undergoing the far more dangerous and invasive procedure of an abortion, the same procedure which is always a deadly one for her unborn child,” said Olivia L. Gans, the group’s president.

Under the legislation, after performing a fetal ultrasound, medical professionals would offer the woman an opportunity to view the sonogram image and hear the fetal heartbeat. A printout of the ultrasound image would be kept in the woman’s medical records.

The Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District will sponsor a tree seedling giveaway on April 2 at Dorey Park Shelter 1 from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on April 3 at Hermitage High School parking lot from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Bare-root tree seedlings are available to Henrico County residents free of charge for the spring planting season.

The following seedling species will be available: apple, kousa dogwood, red maple, river birch, red osier dogwood, loblolly pine, sycamore, bald cypress, white dogwood and redbud. Quantities are limited and trees are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each participant is allowed up to 10 trees total, not to include more than five of the same species. > Read more.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) recently launched an online directory of permitted bingo games played in Virginia. Listed by locality, more than 400 regular games are available across the state. The directory will be updated monthly and can be found on VDACS’ website at http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/gaming/index.shtml.

“Many Virginia charities, including volunteer rescue squads, booster clubs and programs to feed the homeless, use proceeds from charitable gaming as a tool to support their missions, said Michael Menefee, program manager for VDACS’ Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs. > Read more.

Richmonders Jim Morgan and Dan Stackhouse were married at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Lakeside Mar. 7 month after winning the Say I Do! With OutRVA wedding contest in February. The contest was open to LGBT couples in recognition of Virginia’s marriage equality law, which took effect last fall. The wedding included a package valued at $25,000.

Morgan and Stackhouse, who became engaged last fall on the day marriage equality became the law in Virginia, have been together for 16 years. They were selected from among 40 couples who registered for the contest. The winners were announced at the Say I Do! Dessert Soiree at the Renaissance in Richmond in February. > Read more.

Two events this weekend benefit man’s best friend – a rabies clinic, sponsored by the Glendale Ruritan Club, and an American Red Cross Canine First Aid & CPR workshop at Alpha Dog Club. The fifth annual Shelby Rocks “Cancer is a Drag” Womanless Pageant will benefit the American Cancer Society and a spaghetti luncheon on Sunday will benefit the Eastern Henrico Ruritan Club. Twin Hickory Library will also host a used book sale this weekend with proceeds benefiting The Friends of the Twin Hickory Library. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.

In a spot that could be easily overlooked is a surprising, and delicious, Japanese restaurant. In a tiny nook in the shops at the corner of Ridgefield Parkway and Pump Road sits a welcoming, warm and comfortable Asian restaurant called Ichiban, which means “the best.”

The restaurant, tucked between a couple others in the Gleneagles Shopping Center, was so quiet and dark that it was difficult to tell if it was open at 6:30 p.m. on a Monday. When I opened the door, I smiled when I looked inside. > Read more.

Cinderella is the latest from Disney’s new moviemaking battle plan: producing live-action adaptations of all their older classics. Which is a plan that’s had questionable results in the past.

Alice in Wonderland bloated with more Tim Burton goth-pop than the inside of a Hot Topic. Maleficent was a step in the right direction, but the movie couldn’t decide if Maleficent should be a hero or a villain (even if she should obviously be a villain) and muddled itself into mediocrity.

Cinderella is much better. Primarily, because it’s just Cinderella. No radical rebooting. No Tim Burton dreck. It’s the 1950 Disney masterpiece, transposed into live action and left almost entirely untouched. > Read more.